


Rejection for the Rejectee (Werewolf Soulmate)

by Miamichelledane



Category: Mate rejection, Original Story, Soulmate - Fandom, werewolf - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Mates, Rejection, Werewolf, orginial story, soulmate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 22:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5224100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miamichelledane/pseuds/Miamichelledane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine Phoenix Orson was the one to reject people. She was up the social ladder in the school and in the Downton Pack and was the Female Alpha's Beta and her best friend. Valentine had been known to be a player, a flirt, but has changed her ways. Then in comes Zed Griffin. He's new, an Omega, a geek and a pretty hot one at that, but way down the ladder from Valentine and turns out to be her Mate, her one and only (Shocker, I know!) But what happens next stuns her. HE rejects HER, the Omega rejects the Beta, the crowned rejectee. Because of this, Valentine is willing to take necessary steps, but in which direction will she go?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> (Her name is pronounced ValentEEEn)

***PROLOGUE***

***Valentine - 5 years old***

 

I looked into the smiling warm eyes of my Daddy as he lifted me into his arms. He'd been gone soooooo looooong! It had felt like eternity. Mummy had told me that daddy was coming home today and I had waited on the steps of our house for ages, until I saw his car coming. I had ran up to him and as soon he opened the door, he lifted me up into his arms.

My Daddy was in the RAF. I wasn't really sure what it was but I know that it was really, really important.

Mummy then came out and kissed Daddy (ew) and hugged us both. 

Our family would be together forever. 

 

*******

 

****Valentine - 16 years old***

I giggled and fluttered my eyelashes at the human boy in front of me. He grinned back at me. "So, Valentine, you want to meet on Friday?"

He worked fast.

"For the project, yes," I said, firmly putting the boy in the friends zone with all the others. He looked confused and I held in a smirk. Yeah, you try and escape from it, boy. Even though I knew it was cruel, it was sort of fun at the same time. I had a mate, and I would wait for him, no matter what. But hey, that doesn't mean I can't have any fun in the mean time!

"Valentine!" Called my best friend Zandra. "Come on, our bus is here." I smiled once more before jumping on the bus after Zandra. "Must you lead them on, Val?" She looked a little disapproving but she knew I wouldn't take it too far. 

"Yes I must, dear friend of mine, for otherwise I'd be terribly bored!" She laughed with me at that.

Right now, I didn't have a care in the world!

 

*******

 

***Valentine - 16 years old***

 

Mum hadn't come out of her room for days. We'd gotten the news a week ago. I still couldn't believe that he was gone. My eyes wanted to well up with tears but I pushed them down. I had to be strong. Dad would have wanted me to be strong, for Mum.

She had lost her Mate, my dad, and it was hitting her hard. But we had to bury him tomorrow and I don't think that she was ready. I don't think we would ever be ready. He had been testing a new fighter plane and it was faulty. At first they thought he would be able to get out... He didn't. It had blown just when he was a few meters away. Talk about injustice: this was injustice right here.

"Mum, please..... Please come out?" I whispered at the door but all I heard were her wracking sobs..... Then silence. "Mum?" I called and knocked on the door. Still no answer. "Mum!" I pounded on the door even harder but still no one answered. I took a step back and rammed into the door. It splintered a bit but held fast. "Mum!" I tried again, with all my Were strength, and this time it gave. I stumbled into the room and looked around... And there was mum, on the floor, just lying there.


	2. MATE

Chapter 1

*Valentine*

I was sitting in the school canteen when I smelt IT again. I didn't know what it was but all I did know was that is smelt good. My wolf stirred within me and my head popped up from my food before me and I looked around, brown hair swinging as my blue eyes scanned the crowded canteen. Where did it come from?

"Val?" my best friend and future Alpha, Zandra, called to me but I didn't take notice of it. Where was that damn smell coming from?! "Valentine!" I finally turned to her.

"What is it, Zandra?" I asked, slightly annoyed that she intruded in my searching.

"What do you keep looking for? You've been doing it all week and it's a bit strange." She looked at me, concerned.

"I don't know, but I keep smelling this amazing smell, and I just don't know where it's coming from!" I stressed. Suddenly Zandra got all happy and started bouncing up and down on her chair, squealing. Believe it or not, this girl would someday control a very large Pack of Werewolves with her Mate, Flynn... and was currently doing a happy dance for no apparent reason. "Are you okay?" I asked in a slowly, as if talking to a village idiot.

"Oh Val, I'm so happy for you! You've finally found him! You've finally found him!" She hugged me very close and squealed again, and I swear she broke my eardrums. That's the thing about Werewolf senses, they're extremely keen and so even the quietest sound is a boom.

"Zandra, what are you talking about?" I was utterly confused. What had I found? The only thing I've lost recently are my earphones and I very much doubt I'd be smelling them.

"Your Mate, Val! Your MATE!!!" I was stunned. My mate? My Mate was here? But I'm only eighteen! That's really early to find your Mate! I know Zandra and Flynn had but they were a special case - they were destined to be Alpha's together and though I was a Beta, I was only suppose to find my mate when I'm at least in my twenties. "He has to be in the pack! I know what, we'll ask people at the Pack run tonight and you can follow your nose to victory! Oh I'm so damn happy, Val, You've found your Mate!"

The thing with Zandra was that her happiness was contagious so I soon found myself excited as well. What would he think of me? I know I can sometimes be a bit... bitchy to people at times and I seriously hope that I haven't offended him at some point! But, I mean, we're mates so... it should all turn out okay in the end, right?

*******************************

At the Pack run that evening, I stood next to Zandra, Flynn, the current Alphas (Flynns parents) Mr and Mrs Downton on their patio watching Pack members file in. All Pack meetings and runs were held at the Alphas house, which, can I say, is HUGE! Flynn's family are very successful investment bankers and own a werewolf boarding/day school that we and many other pack's send their kids, and so have accumulated many millions over their very long lives of about three hundred years. We Werewolves are virtually immortal and so live for a long time.

The Downton's had bought a huge estate with a thriving forest a couple hundred years ago about an hours drive away from London. The only reason why their huge land was so big outside London was, as I said, they had bought it ages ago. But anyway, some of the Pack lives on site but others live on the outskirts of London so it could sometimes take a while for all pack members to arrive, but it was a monthly gathering that was quite important. We came together every full moon (even though the moon has no effect on our shifting) and it was a time to see everyone in the pack and announce anything.

The garden was almost full with the 200 or so members of the pack and I was starting to get worried that he wouldn't turn up. Then suddenly the smell of him hit me. It was the smell of freshly cut grass and again my eyes scoured the crowd. I pulled Zandra's sleeve as the indication that he'd arrived. My eyes snagged on a figure entering the garden from the side of the house and I instantly knew it was him. He found a place in the crowd, my eyes following his every move, but when he turned around, I couldn't have been more shocked. It was Zed Griffin.

Zed Griffin was a recent addition to the Pack with his Mother and Father, only having been here for about half a year. Thick black-rimmed glasses dominated his face and you could tell that he was extremely tall, but he was slouching, looking at the ground, so you wouldn't know that until he stood up straight. He wore loose jeans and comic references t-shirts that did little to cover his muscles and broad shoulders every male Werewolf found easy to build. I knew that if you got close enough to him you'd be able to see his unusual eye colour of one gold and the other silver. He was an Omega, a geek and kept to himself most of the time... but I didn't care at all about that. He would be perfect for me, I knew he would. A smile started to form on my lips.

"Val, you found him yet?" Zandra whispered to me.

"Yeah, I have. It's Zed Griffin, Za, and I think he's perfect!" I sighed dreamily.

"Oh thats great! Well snag him after Mr Downton's talk, okay?"

"Okay" I sighed again. Then Zed's eyes lifted from the ground and met mine. My smile widened and my Wolf rejoiced but then she and my smile drooped again when he frowned at us. What was wrong? A seed of worry started within me that taunted that I wasn't good enough for him. Oh shut up! I hissed at it. He's our Mate! I stuck to that notion all through our Alpha's speech and finally when he wrapped it up and encouraged us to start shifting, I raced down into the garden, searching for Zed.

I finally found him, talking to his parents. I stopped behind him and cleared my throat. He turned and I seriously think I nearly fainted when I met those extraordinary eyes. Mate, Mate! my wolf chanted in my head. "Um, hi, Zed. Can I talk to you for a minute?" He frowned again but nodded. He must have felt it the same as I had, so why was he acting so nonchalant?

I lead him inside and declined Zandra's silent question, asking if she should join us as we passed her and her mate on our way in. We entered the living room and I sat down. I smiled shyly up at Zed. "Hi."

"Valentine, what are we doing here?" he asked in a surprisingly low voice that made me shiver.

"You must know why, Zed." He shook his head and crossed his arms and then it was my turn to frown. "Zed... we're Mates."

"Yes, and?" he said flippantly and I was shocked.

"Well, we're mates so-"

"So what? Look, Valentine, lets just cut straight to the point, okay? I don't want to be your Mate. I don't want a Mate who looks down on people and will do anything to climb the social ladder. I may not have been in this pack for long, but I've heard the stories. You take in boys for a week at most then you throw them away again without a second's thought. You cut people down when they're at their lowest and laugh at them as they lay there bleeding. You couldn't give a shit about anyone other than yourself. You're like a door knob, everyone gets a turn. But I don't want one, do you hear me? So here it is, Valentine, I reject you as my Mate."

He delivered his killing blow to me and left, just like that. My Mate had rejected me. And it hurt so fucking bad!


	3. Reasons

***Zed***

Valentine was my Mate. Valentine Phoenix Orson was my Mate. Too bad I didn't want her. I knew her type, I'd been used before by girls like her, only looking for their own gains. Felicity was in my old pack and I thought I was in love with her. I thought she was in love with me, but how wrong could I have been. As soon as I said those disgusting words, she left me high and dry for some other jerk. But it wasn't only that, but she made me trust her, she took me in, made me feel something other that the loss of my sister, and I would have done anything for her... but I soon realised that she would have done nothing for me unless it was to her gain. And to have a girl like that ad my Mate, where she has even more sway over me than another person? No thank you.

Loosing my sister, Lilla, was probably the worst thing that had happened to me. I was only ten, her four, when we were attacked in the forest outside our house by rogues. Because of ths attack, it made my wolf come forth pe-maturly to protect us. Our wolves appear when we're in out sixteenth year and that mine came out when I was ten was not good. I hadn't even been able to save her.

My wolf had been damaged since his appearence and add on the death of Lilla, makes a very emotional and unstable wolf. Then Felicity cam along and i thought that maybe not all was lost. Again, I ended up being hurt.

I left the Alpha's house to find my parents. I quietly told them that I was going home. I hardly even ran with the Pack in case he flipped out on the other wolves of the Pack thinking that they were a threat to us. Seeing Valentine's distraught face when I rejected her twisted my heart but it had to be done. I had to think of myself. I knew the first cut to your hear was the worst, but that dosn't mean that the rest won't hurt.

And so I left.


	4. Dealing With It

***Valentine***

I was a statue stiiting on the sofa. After all I'd been through... you'd think I deserved a Mate who actually wanted me. But I guess we don't always get what we want.

Hurt. Hurt and pain were my new best friends right about now. Ever since he walked out that door they had taken up residence in my heart. Not only did the rejection hurt, but... the things he accused me of, expecially coming from the person who was meant to love and cherish you, I think possibly that hurt the worst. The thing was, I wasn't like that anymore. Sure, I was before I'll admit to that, but I wasn't like that anymore, since... I just wasn't like that anymore. I had changed from the girl I used to be. In fact, now that girl desgusted me. She had had no self respect, had been a tease to any guy and threw them away after, never even looking at them again. But she was gone now. I'm no longer like that!

I had changed and that he would base his judgement on me on my past self and from nothing more than stories from others? That hurt. Bad.

"Val, I just saw Zed leaving the garden, what happened....?" Zandra rounded the corner of the door and saw me sitting therre on the sofa , looking at the floor. "Valentine? What happened?"

I looked sadly up at her. "He rejected me, straight out," I admited, ashamed that even my Mate could not deal with what I had been like.

Zandra's mouth dropped open just before she got angry. "OH THAT BLOODY BASTARD! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT COWARD, HE'S GOING TO HAVE TO SAY HIS LAST FAREWELLS TO HIS BOLLOCKS BEFORE I CUT THEM RIGHT OF AND FEED THEM TO THE DOGS! I'M GUNNA-" She started marching towards the door, fists clenched and cheecks flushed from anger.

"NO! No, don't you dare, Zandra!" I clampted my hand on her shoulder and pulled her back to face me. "I don't want him to come for me just because our Alpha ordered him to! Za, Please, don't let anyone know."

She looked at me and pursed her lips. "Fine," she grumbled. "Tell me what happened, and don't leave anything out." I did as she asked. By the end of it I'm sure that she was thinking of more sinister things to do to Zed than cutting off his balls and feeding them to the dogs, but I knew she would respect my wished and not try to kill him. "I'm going to kill him," she hissed. Okay, maybe not then.

"Zandra, NO. You cannot do anything, do you understand me? You will not threaten him, you will not stifle him in the pack, you will not give him any incling that you know anything about what happened here, okay?" I pleaded.

"Yes, okay, I understand."

"Not even Flynn!"

"Yeah, okay, fine, I promise!" We sat in scilence for a while. "What are you going to do now?"

"Honestly? I don't know, but... I might have to leave- No, Zandra let me finish!" I told her as she opened her mouth. "I might have to go because I'm not sure if I can deal with seeing him day to day."

"Where do you plan to go, then? Another Pack?" she asked bitterly.

"No of course not to another Pack, this is my home! You know that. What I meant is, I might train to be in the RAF, you know, follow in Dad's footsteps."

"But, Val, thats where your Dad died..." Zandra started

"I know. Trust me I know. But I also know that he would have been proud of me if I did it." Ever since my Father had died in a crash whilst on duty with the Royal Air Force, and Mum following not far behind him not able to deal with the loss of her Mate, their veiws were all that mattered to me. They were the reason I had changed. They weren't happy about how I was acting, but they loved me anyway. Then they were gone, taken from me.

"Okay, Val, if that's what you want." She pulled me to her and I finally let the tears slip past my eyelids. My Mate had rejected me, true, but I would move past it and be stronger, just like I did with my parent's death. I didn't let it pull me down but instead lived in their name, and I would do the same with this.

"I, Valentine Phoenix Orson, accept the rejection of Zed Griffin, in the eyes of my Alpha and my Pack."


	5. Time to go back it seems.... Damn.

***Valentine***

*4 years later*

"SHIT! Cam, they're making me go back for my six-month leave! I can't bloody go back!" I was having a panic attack whilst I furiously paced Cam and my apartment in London. "He will be there! I glimpsed him at the Alpha ceremony and I swear I nearly went into a coma." Zandra and Flynn, at the age of 21, took the mantle of Alpha pair from Flynn's parents. Because the ceremony was basically their wedding, Zandra forced me to take a few days leave from the RAF to be her maid of honor. I couldn't turn her down so I flew my plane (did I mention I had my own?) and was there for her big day. I'd left as soon as I could and threw myself back into the job.

Not many climb up so high in the RAF stations in four years but I had been determined to do it. I was determined to show that I could do something big and meaningful with my life, that I wasn't some self centered snob. Of course this had absolutely nothing to do with my Mate rejecting me for those very reasons! Actually I had been thinking about joining the RAF for a while, but I do admit that what he said pushed the idea forward. Being near him as I finished secondary school and A levels in the couple months of school were a nightmare. I turned into a hermit, not wanting to see him, thinking that I would at every turn, digging myself in my own well of self-pity.

But, like when my parents died, Zandra was there to throw down the rope and pull me up. She's helped me back onto my feet during the summer and sent me on my way with all the best luck.

Being Were, drills from the General Service Training, Force Development Training, and Force Protection Training were surprisingly easy. Before the age of about 15 - 17, Were children are virtually human with a dormant Werewolf gene. After that, we go through a sickening process that changed our whole genetic makeup to become full Werewolves. We gained things we didn't have before, like our wolf and heightened senses. We also learnt where in the pack we would be, if an Omega, a Beta or an Alpha, depending of the dominancy of your wolf. Your status in the pack was not passed down to you from your parents, it all depended on you. Flynn was lucky that he was just as dominant as his parents for if he wasn't he wouldn't have become Alpha and neither would Zandra. When you find your mate, you automatically become equal in dominancy. Zandra was on Beta level before she met Flynn, and now she was Alpha level for her Mate was an Alpha. It was our wolves making sure that Mates are equal as they should be.

I was a Beta which meant that I was more dominant that a normal Were and could be an Alpha in a weak pack, but I would be over-taken by an Alpha if they came along. I preferred being a Beta anyway. Beta's were the mouth of the Alpha, talking to the Pack and taking care of their personal issues while the Alpha takes care of the Pack in a more general sense like their safety, security and financially. I prefer to be dealing with Pack whining and complaining Pack members that Math any day!

"Well, Phee, you're going to have to go," Cam told me, calling me my nick-name in the RAF, Phoenix because of my mad flying skills, and that is was in fact my middle name. "She's still your Alpha, no matter where you are. I'm sorry I can't help anymore, Sweet, though I wish I could."

Then I was hit by an idea - an idea so simple and bright I was surprised I hadn't thought of it earlier and that I didn't have a light bulb flashing above my head. Cam looked at me strangely, then apparently recognized the look on my face. "Phee, no. No way in hell."

"Oh come on, Cam! It'll be fun!" I pleaded.

"Fun? No way are you dragging me into your messed up love life of yours."

"You do realize how rich that is coming from you, right?"

Cam fake gasped at me, raising his muscled torso off my bed where he was resting and put a hand to his heart as if he had received a terrible shock. "You take that back right now Phoenix!" He demanded, lip ring glinting as he spoke.

"Hmmm...." I hummed, raising a finger to my chin as if I were pondering on the notion. "I don't think I shall, my darling man-whore of a gay best friend."

"Man-whore?! I prefer skilled and accomplished lover, thank you very much! You're just annoyed that I get any when you don't," he declared triumphantly, flipping over onto his back, raising his tattooed arms behind his head.

"Put them down, will you? I'd rather not pass out from the BO coming from those cavers of bush." Cam shot me the evil eye.

"Stop taking your annoyances out on me, Sweet, I can see right through you."

It was true. Cam was my partner in crime in the RAF. He had become my fast friend when I had gone to a club with other RAF trainees (Cam included) getting slightly drunk and loosing the plot a bit. I'd started to spill to the group about my failed love life when I started spewing words like 'Mate', 'Alpha' and 'Pack' because I was so drunk. That was when Cam came to save my arse by carting it out of there. He was a Were as well and managed to talk me down, but I still ended up having a breakdown and spilling to him. BFF's from then on. I adopted him and he adopted me.

"Please come, Cam...." I whined and gave him my best puppy-eyed look that I knew he caved to.

"Oh no you don't! Don't give me that look and pout that damn lip, Phee!" I let my bottom lip start to tremble and kept my eyes open for extra long so that they watered when I did blink, faking tears. Cam sat up and looked at me all panicky. "Phoenix...." He warned but I ignored him. He was starting to cave, I could see it. I sniffled and he lunged at me, taking my face in his two big hands. "Stop it, Sweet, please!" I didn't, just stared at him with watery eyes. I knew then that I had won. "Okay, I'll go!"

"You will?" I asked in a small voice, blinking up at him.

"Yeah, Sweet, I'll go," he breathed and smiled, relieved.

"Great!" I shouted, grinning and jumping up from my seat on the bed, startling him. Cam then groaned and flopped down on the bed as he realized he'd fallen in my trap again. "You know, it's quite funny how you're all tough and mean, but if you put a crying woman in front of you, you completely crumble," I commented.

"You know you're evil, right?"

"Running for the award," I replied leaning down to kiss him on the cheek and winking down at him. Time to get ready for the time of my life! NOT.

***

"This is what you left behind?" Cam was gaping up at the huge Alpha house. I chuckled at the expression. "Why did you leave again?"

"Because of a bastard Wolf, remember?"

"Oh yeah...." He was obviously not listening to me so I just rolled my eyes.

We drove past the house and to a vacated log home where Cam and I would be staying. I would stay in my parents' house but it was too far away from The Alpha house and I didn't with to re-visit some of those memories. Outside on the porch, as we came into the clearing, were Zandra and Flynn. I grinned and jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped. I ran out and virtually tackled Zandra with my hug.

"Hey watch out! Try not to hurt my Mate, will you?" Flynn complained, but Zandra and I just ignored him, as per usual.

"Oh God have I missed you!" I cried.

"Well you wouldn't miss me so much if you took the care of visiting us every so often," Zandra sassed. "Just saying."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You also know why I couldn't visit every so often like you'd want. Flynn was off to the side talking to Cam, so I knew he wouldn't be listening in on our conversation. Zandra had kept her word, no matter how hard it must have been, and not told Flynn about me and you-know-who.

"Oh yeah, about that... Well, you've been gone a while, and, um..." Zandra stuttered, looking anywhere but me.

"Zandra..." I warned, prompting her to spit it out already.

"Well a lot has changed since you were last here, and you made me never get in the way of him in the pack and I've done as you asked but I think he's rose higher than you though he would..."

"What do you mean, Zandra?"

"Well he may or may not be Flynn's new Beta and he may or may not be seeing my new Beta," She spilt in a rush.

I just stared at her.

I knew that she had gotten a new Beta, and that Flynn had finally chosen his but I didn't know it was him and that the two were going out! I calmed myself. He had moved on. I knew he would, I mean there wasn't even much to move from, and I had too. Kinda. Sort of. Maybe... not. I had tried though! "I'm sorry that I didn't do anything, Val," Zandra apologized.

"Za, don't worry about it. I told you to get a new Beta, and whatever he is doing has absolutely no effect on me." Liar, liar, pants on fire, my wolf whispered to me but I hissed at her to be quite a second. "How are Uncle and Auntie?" I asked to change the subject. Uncle and Auntie were Zandra's parents and my God-parents. They had taken me in after my mum passed and insisted that I carry on calling them Uncle and Auntie like always instead of their actual names of Sally and Jack.

"They're good," Zandra answered but I could see by the look in her eyes that she wasn't being fooled.

"Come on, I want to see my God-brother-in-law," I said and linked my arm with Zandra's. She rolled her eyes.

"That just sounds way too long." We walked to Cam and Flynn where he was looking mighty flustered. I could see that Cam was mercilessly flirting at him and Flynn had no clue how to deal with it.

"Man-whore," I commented to Cam as we neared them. "Stop traumatizing the poor man, he has a Mate!" I chased him.

Cam gasped and looked at Flynn in horror, hand to his chest. "You have a Mate?!?!" he cried in outrage. Flynn looked like a deer in the headlights. He tried turning to us for help but we just shook our heads, grinning at him. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Flirting with another man while your Mate stands right there!" He turned to Zandra and picked up her hand. "My dear Lady, if I had known, I would have never returned his flirtations. Please, forgive me." He bent down and kissed her knuckles making Zandra laugh.

"I like you," She said to Cam, and he grinned up at her. "You can stay." Cam straightened and looped his arm through hers.

"Marvelous. Now tell me, Sweet, where can I find the gay men?" Cam started, and began to walk with Zandra to the main house, leaving me to laugh after him. That man-whore of a gay best friend; what to do with him?

"Come on, Flynn, let's follow them," I prompted the mute and gob smacked Alpha, tugging at his arm. Yup, defiantly traumatized.

Time to face the music. I might just set Cam loose on He-who-shall-not-be-named. Oh wouldn't that be fun....


	6. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named

***Zed***

*(He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named)*

"Baby, come back to bed..." Tilly's voice floated out to me in the bathroom from my bedroom next door and I groaned silently. I cleared my face to a pleasant look and poked my head around the door to look at the Beta in the middle of my rumpled duvet covers. Well, she wasn't even a Beta. Sure, she was one strongest female in the pack under Zandra, but she was still an Omega. Tilly had wriggled her way into Zandra's graces and had been made her Beta by pure default. Tilly not being an actual Beta was an issue when she stepped up to power and so turned to me.

I was a Beta, but only because of, well... but anyway, Tilly was hell bent on mating with me so her wolf would gain the same dominance as mine. Now, that was all fine with me, but it was starting to annoy me how she kept on pushing the point and telling me that she wanted to start telling people that we were mates. There was a small issue with that... I technically already had a Mate, and so being with any other woman besides her was uncomfortable for my wolf, no matter how okay with it I was.

Sure, Tilly was fun, but she was also vindictive and shallow. She didn't pay attention to Zandra and fell short on basic Beta duties. She saw the position as a right and not a privilege, and she was abusing it to get what she wants. That was another reason why she wanted to mate with me: while she might be able to pull dominance on the females, she had trouble with the males because most of them were more dominant than her. But then again, she was fun and she might use me, but I also used her, so it was a fair arrangement. 

"Babe, you know I would, but I need to get to work and so do you," I said, plastering a fake smile.

"But I'm so tired..." she whined and fell back upon the pillows, dull brown hair fanning out around her. I sat down on the bed next to her and pouted at me, imitating puppy eyes. She thought she looked cute, but in actual fact, she looked like a mutated gargoyle. She was trying to get me to let her out of working and covering for her, and usually I would, but I'm pretty sure Zandra was onto me, and I swear she has something against me.

"Tilly, babe, you've had two days off already, and don't you want to meet the visitors that are coming in today?" I baited.

"What? There are visitors coming? Why wasn't I told?" She said frantically, sitting up.

"Well you were ill and Zandra didn't want to disturb you." I knew that this would spur Tilly into getting out of bed because the one thing she hated was to be left out of the loop.

She sighed, like she was about to do a great service for the good of others. "You know, you're right, Zed. I've been unfair to Zandra, making her pick up my slack while I was ill. I'll be ready in a bit and I'll see you at the house?" Worked like a charm. I smirked down at her. She rose to kiss me on the lips, but I turned my head so it would be on the cheek. She didn't notice my evasion and got up to get ready.

I left the house and mounted my Harley Davidson motorbike. I didn't live too far from the main house, but it was always fun to take my baby out for a spin. It took only five minutes to get there, driving quite fast and soon I was plopping myself behind my desk to start working. I had a nice office on the second floor of the Alpha house, but only because I was Flynn's Beta. The basement and first floor were open to the pack, but only people who worked in the house had a place on the second floor and the top two floors were completely off limits to anyone not directly close to the Alpha pair. It was their lodgings when Flynn's parents moved to a newly built house in the woods for them to get some peace after god-knew how many years ruling the Pack.

Flynn had said the guests would come around ten, and it was eight now, so I should be able to get some work done, now, meet and greet the guests and go to the new enforcers training at eleven. After I rejected my Mate, my wolf had grown even more restless and agitated than before. Fighting helped to let loose some tension, so I had taken up extra fighting courses, and when I became Beta a little under a year ago, began to train the trainee enforcers of the pack to perfection, along with my other Beta duties. I hadn't been thrilled at first that Flynn chose me to be his Beta, but I found it kept me busy. I didn't dwell on the how I was only at Beta dominance because of her and really should be thanking her for it.

I had hardly seen her for four years since she joined the RAF at 18. I'd seen her at the Alpha celebration and my wolf had fought so hard at the sight of her, trying to get to her, I had been forced to leave and calm down away from her intoxicating scent of a storm and forest. It had taken a while, but I finally managed it.

I had felt slightly guilty that I made her leave her home and family, but it was for the best. I hoped she never came back.

I buried myself in my work, dealing with issues in the pack, arranging meetings, keeping relations between the Downton pack and others good etc. Tilly was supposed to help me but I had gotten used to doing all the work. I started to shuffle papers, adjusting my glasses as I did so, and started to get to work.  
I still had horrid eyesight, which was weird for a Were, but hey, apparently they're sexy. 

I'd just gotten off the phone with a neighboring pack when Flynn came into the office. "There you are, Zed. Come on, they've arrived," he stated and held the door so I could come through.

"Who are they, the visitors? Zandra wouldn't say anything when I asked." I wanted to know their names so I wouldn't forget them.

"Well one is called Cam Rayson, and the other is an old pack member who we haven't seen in a while. I don't know if you've met her: Valentine Orson?"

I stumbled in shock, but quickly recovered. She was here? "Uh, no I don't think I have. How long are they staying?"

"Quite a while, I think. Well, Valentine will anyway, around five months. Cam will be popping in and out because he isn't on leave like Valentine is. Valentine was Zandra's first Beta but then left to join the RAF at 18 four years ago. She hasn't been back since very much and Zandra's had to basically blackmail her to come for her leave. This was her home, still is, with all her friends and what's left of her family, so I never fully understood why she left. She said she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, but I think it was more than that." Flynn was rambling on about Valentine, like he does on many other subjects which he knows a lot about, not noticing the effect it was having on me, thinking he was just giving me background information like I'd asked. This put even more guilt on me as he talked about how great Valentine was and how he and Zandra had been missing her. "Now, her friend Cam seems nice but he really is something else." Flynn frowned. "I'd stay away from him if I were you. He's trouble."

Flynn carried on talking, but this time about Alpha duties but I tuned him out. I was going to see her again, and if I were to go by what Flynn had told me, I'd made a huge misjudgment. 

We came into the games room to see Valentine and Zandra playing pool, but Valentine had a muscled, tattooed and handsome man around her, guiding her cue to hit the white ball. Zandra crossed the room and walked into her Mate's arms. Valentine was laughing at something the man had just whispered in her ear. 

My wolf rose up at the sight, fighting against my control, growling two words: mine and claim. A small growl escaped my mouth and their eyes turned to me, laughter dieing. Valentine's bright blue eyes met mine and flashed with brief recognition before locking down and giving me an airy and polite smile one would usually give to a stranger. I wasn't a stranger, dammit! I thought. But you are, aren't you? My wolf taunted in disapproval. You are because you rejected her, our own Mate! He howled is grief and I can't ignore my own pang of sadness. While I had been wrestling with my wolf, Valentine had approached me, and I focused again to find her a few feet away from me. My wolf and I ceased our bickering instantly. She opened her mouth... and turned to Flynn to say, "So this is the Beta you finally found to fill the place?"

"Meet Zed Griffin, new Beta of the Downton Pack. I don't know if you've ever met him."

Valentine finally turned to look at him again. "No, I don't think I have," she casually said and damn if it didn't make me and my wolf cringe. She gave me one of those polite smiles again. She didn't offer her hand. "I'm Valentine. I was here quite a few years ago, but I never remember there being a male Beta wolf in the Pack at that time. When did you join?" I could see what she was doing, and fuck it, but she was doing it well. She was almost as good at baiting as I was.

"I came quite a few months before you left but I only showed my Beta side when needed. I wasn't ever very happy about my Beta dominance, but I soon found a way to use the grievance." Two could play the baiting game, but I was annoyed (and maybe a touch impressed) that she didn't react at all. She just smiled again, turned around, and walked back to Cam who was glowering at me fiercely. What is it with people and having things against me? They don't even know me! I glowered at him right back, meeting his eyes knowing full well that my two different eye colours of gold and silver put most people off. He didn't even twitch. Goddammit.

I felt like I had better go before I did anything stupid, like punching this Cam person in the face, or better, dragging Valentine back to my house away from him, probably kicking and screaming. Yeah, for some reason I didn't think that would go down too well. 

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go and train the new enforcers now." I nodded to Flynn and took my leave just as Tilly was approaching the games room. I would pay to see the confrontation between Valentine, a real Beta, and Tilly, a wanna-be Beta. But, alas, I had butts to kicks so it simply could not be. But maybe I could send one of the pack members to film it for me... 

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End file.
